


Lessons in Humanity

by Shadowgeist



Series: Trials of the Five Virtuosos (and guest) [1]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: 5+1 Things, Along with everyone else in Kunugigaoka's Main Building, But this is just the Big 5, Cuz the Big 5 need to LEARN IT, Empathy, Gakuho Asano's Bad Parenting, Gen, Hiromi Shiota's Bad Parenting, Nagisa being Nagisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25997602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowgeist/pseuds/Shadowgeist
Summary: The Big Five of Kunugigaoka Junior High had a lot going for them. They were the top students in their grade, and the entire school. But even they had something to learn from the school's laughingstocks-turned-underdogs.And the students of the End Class were perfect to teach them.
Series: Trials of the Five Virtuosos (and guest) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127615
Comments: 42
Kudos: 179





	1. Teppei Araki

**Author's Note:**

> **This is actually my first fic for Assassination Classroom. I might as well give it a shot so I hope you all like it. Also, forgive me for any OOC behavior you find in the characters.**

Teppei was always told that the E-Class of Kunugigaoka was the worst of the worst. Even by his parents, and even his brothers. Long before he became a student and instead when either of his brothers were students there. It was hammered into his head from so early on, he had forgotten the concept of why it was that way, even when he started going there himself.

He wanted to make sure he didn’t disappoint his family from day one. He joined the Broadcasting Club and eventually became the head. He and the club served as the bridge between the Chairman and the student body. A simple, impartial messenger to remind all his peers and juniors of the ideology of the school.

...But then again, the club wasn’t exactly as “impartial” as they were made out to be. Nor was the End Class as pathetic as anyone thought.

On the weekend before finals, Teppei was in charge of a study group meeting at a nearby family restaurant. Nothing too important; just a few kids sans E-Class that needed a bit of help with Social Studies. One of the waiters directed them to an empty booth where they could work in peace, saying that one of his coworkers would be there to take orders shortly.

At least they had a few minutes before that happened. Enough time to set up and squeeze in a quick preview before really getting into their study session. Along with glancing at the menu for when the waiter finally arrived.

“Alright, may I take your orders?” a voice asked.

Teppei knew that voice, and judging from the entire booth going quiet, so did his peers. He looked up to see them staring at their dark-haired waiter, notepad in hand.

_ Yuma Isogai… he works here? _

The E-Class rep was cordial as always, but he did seem nervous about serving kids in the main building. Even as they all gave their orders and he jotted them down, he seemed to almost be avoiding looking at them too long. Admittedly, Teppei’s attempt at being polite was obviously colored by reluctance to be at all nice to an E-Class deadbeat.

_ He knows that he shouldn’t have a job because he’s in school. But if he knows that, why does he still work part-time? _

“Just as a quick favor, please keep quiet about this, all of you,” he whispered. “I know it’s against the rules, but you have to understand that I have to do this sort of thing.”

The greenette’s eyes narrowed as he pushed up his glasses. “I doubt we can 'understand' your reasoning, Isogai. But, if you can show us what you’ve got in Social Studies,  _ maybe _ I’ll consider keeping this from Asano. But I can’t guarantee my friends here will keep it out of school gossip.”

As it turned out, Isogai actually did surprisingly well. He was able to give the right answer to just about any question he was asked and give a few pointers whenever he went by their table. All while picking up trays of dishes, taking orders from other tables, and even bringing over their own food and drinks. The other students were understandably impressed, as was Teppei.

“Alright, everyone, good job,” he congratulated as the students packed up. “Make sure to keep studying and we’ll definitely beat E-Class in the exams.”

“Even though one guy in E-Class was helping us the whole time?” one of the girls asked.

That managed to stop him for a second. She had a point. If someone from 3-E was helping them the entire study session, even if only to make them keep quiet about his job, that didn’t really mean they could actually beat them in the exams; at least, not Isogai in the Geography department.

“Uh, yeah. Definitely,” he replied, trying to sound convincing. “Just make sure to keep studying and we’ll be sure to ace the exams. See you all tomorrow!”

All of the main building kids happily bid him good day. But Teppei stayed behind, watching Isogai continue to work. He seemed… happy with his job. Talking to customers while taking orders, dutifully collecting dishes and distributing silverware. You’d think he was a grown man doing all of that without any trouble.

When the customers seemed to reach a lull, Teppei waved over the brunette. “Hey Isogai, just out of curiosity, how come you’re able to do so well in your schoolwork despite juggling E-Class and a job? Wasn’t it grades that got you in there in the first place?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, of course not,” he replied. “It was actually because of my family needing me to take up work that I was bumped down in the first place. Grades had nothing to do with it.”

“Really?” Teppei’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He didn’t expect grades to not be in the equation unlike some of Isogai’s classmates.  _ I guess I just assumed it was grades that were the main issue, not for him and his part-timing to be like Akabane and his bad behavior. _

“Yup. It’s been pretty hard since my dad passed on. I think your father was in charge of writing out that story.”

“Oh…  _ Oh _ …” Yeah, Teppei remembered that. His dad was in charge of writing an article about a bad traffic accident a year or two ago. But he never considered that one of the casualties was Isogai’s father. “Didn’t some of those ladies say your mother’s sick, too?”

Isogai’s eyes averted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Well, yeah. They’re some of Mom’s old friends. She’s always been pretty sickly; ever since she was a kid, in fact. Ever since the traffic accident, I’ve had to take care of her and my little brother and sister.”

That was able to almost silence the green-haired boy. He never really considered that his reason for being sent to Class E was so… noble. Isogai had to become the man of a poor house since his father’s passing. No wonder he had to take up part-time work wherever he could. It was actually kind of sad that the school didn’t allow their students to have jobs, regardless of financial situation.

_ No wonder he’s still so admired among those in the main building. _

“I guess… I guess I never considered how someone’s personal life could contribute to their school status,” he admitted. “Suddenly, the system of Kunugigaoka doesn’t seem so fair.”

“Because that system calls me a ‘deadbeat’ for taking care of my family?” Isogai inquired. “Don’t worry about it, Araki. There’s really no need to make a big deal out of it. Just, you know… keep it in mind next time, kay? After all, you never know what some people might have to go home to.”

Those words seemed to stick to Teppei’s brain even after he left the restaurant. He’d never given much thought to what some people might be living through. He always thought that E-Class deserved to be the failing laughingstocks of the school. But now, he’s not so sure of that anymore. Just like how he realized how dumb an idea it was to make any sort of wager with Isogai’s class, with him being a top witness.

It probably shouldn’t have mattered to begin with. At the end of the day, Class E was an “example” created to deter the Chairman’s idea of laziness, whether or not it actually  _ was _ laziness. And all it did was encourage perfectionism in the rest of the student body and force them to work themselves to the edge. Looking back, his father sometimes handled articles of students really breaking under the pressure and killing themselves. It should've been an example of how bad the school system is from early on in Teppei's life.

If he really thought about it, they didn’t really deserve to be harassed for the ideas of their elders who despised them so, especially if some of them had some bad family situations that could contribute to their schoolwork. Besides, just because they were the worst in Kunugigaoka didn’t mean they’d be the same in other schools; it would only count as being the shortest giants or something like that.

It was almost scary how he didn’t realize that sooner.


	2. Ren Sakakibara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Two down, three and a +1 to go. Hope you enjoy the class players of Kunugigaoka properly meeting one another. Thanks for the Kudos and kind words, everybody!**

Ren always enjoyed going to the library, wherever the nearest available one was. Not just because it was a good place for studying -- unlike the rest of the Big Five, including his best friend. No, libraries had been his favorite places in the world far longer than that. It was a quiet and peaceful place where he could devour all the stories and poems he wanted growing up. He was always told he got it from his mother.

After his parents divorced and his father remarried, libraries soon gained the purpose of being the main bond he still had with his mother. He hoped to find someone who loved the fascinating worlds and lilting rhythms woven from words on pages the same way he did. The Literature Club in Kunugigaoka was a welcoming place for those like him, even though he was practically the only boy even remotely involved.

When the rest of the Big Five sans Asano tried messing with some E-Class students in the school library before exams, they were all openly threatened the moment Seo mentioned putting their lives on a wager. Looking back, Ren probably shouldn’t have made the mistake of trying his luck with Kanzaki, at least not with the other three around. Especially since that earned him a mechanical pencil mere millimeters from his eye, the girl smiling placidly all the while.

She was probably smiling in the same way when it turned out she beat him in the finals. Despite her not taking Asano down a peg in Japanese, Ren could give a girl credit where it’s due, E-Class or not. It wasn’t like he could blame her for not quite beating out his best friend, even though her classmates seemed to already give him and the rest of the Big 5 a fair share of humble pie.

At least now that that nightmare was over and done with, he could browse his favorite public library in peace. _More or less; thank you very much for the earful, Stepmother._

“Which one are we looking at next again?”

He stopped at the muttered voice on the other side of the shelf he was sifting through. Carefully, he pushed aside the book stoppers to see the other side of the shelf, reaching further in to move the books on the other side. He was met with a crown of golden-brown hair. _Someone shorter than me, and also probably looking down at his phone. That didn’t sound like Gakushu, so who is it?_

The person on the other side walked away, leaving Ren to return from his viewing spot in bewilderment.

“You know, I always loved looking through bookshelves like that as a kid,” the voice returned, with a bit more volume this time and a desire to be heard. “But I didn’t expect the giant of the Big 5 to still do that sort of thing.”

Ren looked down the aisle to his left to see none other than Hiroto Maehara. The E-Class heartthrob, laid-back and vaguely curious. Last he could recall, he used to date a girl from 3-C, until she went for Seo and still sort of kept him around like a backup plan. Karma -- not Akabane, hopefully -- soon came for her, though, and the leading student in English got dragged through the mud with her.

Covering himself being found out, Ren cleared his throat and nonchalantly flipped his hair. "I suppose you can't blame me, though. I wouldn't expect Class E's resident player to be in a _library_ of all places."

Maehara shrugged, "Just something our teacher recommended. Hazama says it's a pretty good read for not exactly being in her field of expertise." His eyes wandered to the shelf, swiftly picking out a novel. "There it is!"

Ren kind of knew who he was talking about. Kirara Hazama was the Literature Club's expert in the horror and thriller genres; anything remotely scary was her specialty. He never really had much interest in her because of the rather terrifying air she gave off. If you asked him, the recommended book Maehara was holding -- a Japanese translation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s _Speak_ \-- fit in perfectly with Hazama’s preferences. One of its central themes left it banned from most school libraries despite its own setting, so it’d be most likely to be in a public library; the girl herself probably gave him a heads-up on that.

“By the way, I hope you can sacrifice some of your high-and-mighty Class 3-A pride for a little bit, Sakakibara. I’ve been hoping to talk to you about something.”

 _Oh joy..._ “If this has anything to do with the wager between our classes, I’m not sure _I’m_ the one you need to confront. Not sure if you heard, but I had no place in creating that bet in the first place.” Even though he still nearly got stabbed in the eye for being involved with those who _did_.

“That’s not what I want to talk to you about,” Maehara replied, his tone turning serious. “We can talk outside after you’re done picking out your own books; this is a library after all.” With a resolute turn on his heel, he went to the desk to check out his copy of _Speak_.

Ren knew it might not be a good idea to be seen with an E-Class kid, even if they weren’t in school at the moment. But with how he went from a passive “nice weather we’re having” tone to more like a teacher after one’s parent just called them for some reason… he couldn’t help being curious.

He found Maehara waiting beside the base of the library’s steps, sitting on the short concrete wall. “So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” he asked once meeting him.

The shorter boy leaned forward a bit. “I’m just wondering why you keep trying your luck with one of my classmates. You know, Kanzaki, who beat you out at Japanese in the finals. ‘Cause let me warn you now, if Sugino caught you trying anything, he might actually kill you with one of his baseball pitches. It’s kind of obvious that none of my class’ girls go for a guy who’s trying too hard to play Casanova.”

Ren had his doubts on that last part. “So you want to know why I flirt with your most beautiful classmate because your baseball-playing friend is jealous? Well, she’s a gorgeous and attractive young woman; you can’t blame me for hoping to turn my ‘enemy’ into a lover. And you think the other E Class girls don’t like flirting as a whole? I’m certain that’s because you’re the wrong person flirting with them.”

“This isn’t just about girls or anything like that.” The look in Maehara’s eyes held a true force to be reckoned with. The same blazing-yet-chilling look in his eyes that Ren saw in the rest of 3-E. “It’s about friends, and all the crap you’ve been pulling. Sometimes, people need someone to be there for them, and the last thing they need is more trouble. If you value someone at all, be their protector whenever they need one, not a part of whatever the hell might be causing them trouble.”

Ren rose a brow. “And what would you know about being a protector of any sort? Far as I'm concerned, you’re no different from me.”

“No… we couldn’t be _more_ different…” Maehara’s eyes went somber, arms lifting to fold in front of his torso like he had a stomachache or something. “Because _I_ had to be protected once, and so did Kanzaki. And no, this isn’t about when I broke up with Tsuchiya. She and I were hurt on the same day, from the same threat, and were protected _by_ the same protector. The problem was some PE teacher who tried to break all of us, and he hurt us both for trying to stand up to him.”

The mere thought of someone -- teacher or otherwise -- hurting the wonderful Kanzaki set an angry fire in Ren. _What feral beast among men would dare attack such a wonderful lady as Yukiko Kanzaki?!_ “And… what happened?”

“Our friend protected us,” the strawberry blond boy continued, “even though he was so small compared to the guy; hell, he’s tiny no matter how you look at him.” His eyes grew distant; wistful even. “He’s so small, but he was able to protect and save all of us before that teacher got the boot. I guess you could say he’s sort of inspired me to do the same for my sisters. Just because they’re older than me doesn’t mean they’re invincible, and just because I’m smaller than they are doesn’t make me weaker than them either.”

Despite never saying his name, Ren almost thought he knew who came to Maehara and Kanzaki’s rescue. That little effeminate blue-haired kid who would half the time be seen around Akabane. Naga or something like that. He wouldn’t expect a guy like him to take on a teacher in defense of his peers -- least of all a PE teacher -- and actually somehow _win_. But here was Maehara, all but saying just that. And saying it inspired him to be there for his sisters, too.

“If you hope to have any particular sort of bond, protecting them or just being there when they need someone can be more than enough,” he summarized, putting a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “My classmates taught me that when I was hurt. I hope you don’t have to learn that the same way.”

 _Protecting them... just being there…_ Ren’s brain echoed. That train of thought reminded him of Gakushu for some reason. How he always looked so irritated, and almost _exhausted_ , after talking to his father. How he fought to mask his humiliation from his loss in the finals. All the times Ren figured _something_ was going on between the lines between his best friend and his father for all the time he’s known him. _I guess I always wished I could be there for you, old friend. If only you’d let me see that side of you I know you can’t hide forever._

“Hiroto!” a girl’s voice called out. “You coming?! Remember, we’re having the Isogai family visit tonight!”

Ren turned to the voice to see two young women on either side of a car. Both of them had the same golden-orange hair as Maehara, the one at the driver’s side having hers in a ponytail.

Their brother sighed. “Coming!” he called back, hopping off the wall. But before leaving, he gave Ren another pat on the shoulder. “Remember. If you want to have any sort of bond with someone else, the main thing you can do is help them. You might be the only one who can.”

 _The only one who can help_ them… He chuckled, flipping his hair. _Knowing Gakushu, that_ would _probably be the case._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Slight bit of foreshadowing and calling back to some things there. Those of you who know the manga probably know what the latter was all about. Kinda wished it was animated, to be honest.**


	3. Natsuhiko Koyama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This one's going to be a little different from the last two. Rather than being directly taught something by Class 3-E, I've decided to have Koyama learn something indirectly from the class scientists and even an old acquaintance: the importance of having a bond with others.**

It was weird how Asano didn’t seem to want to have any fun in Okinawa. No one saw hide nor hair of him outside the hotel; according to Sakakibara, he just stayed in their hotel room studying. While the rest of Class A in Okinawa was having fun on the beach swimming or exploring and giving their inner children a bit of freedom, (some even thought they saw the E Class kids on gliders on the adjacent beach) Asano was studying as solemnly as ever. Natsuhiko wasn't surprised that the one to acknowledge his academic prowess would be so enamored with studying, but even he wasn't a machine.

It was about the second to last night on the island that there was a huge explosion nearby. No one could possibly pretend they didn’t feel it happen with how it shook their entire hotel and freaked out most of the girls attending, knocking over several things inside. It didn’t help that it sounded like it was coming from where the E Class was staying.

“What in the… What was _that?_ ” Araki asked, voice quivering in fear.

“Heh?! How should I know?!” Natsu snapped, cleaning his glasses with his shirt to try and see it better. “The hell did that even come from?”

Someone knocked at their door. “Araki, Koyama, you alright in there?”

That was Sakakibara. The well-known romantic wanderer was standing at their door, looking worried once Araki opened it for him. _Of course he’d be the first one to go about checking on everyone. How is someone so huge so fast?_ “Yeah, yeah, we’re fine,” Natsu hand-waved. “If you’re looking for a better view of whatever we didn’t see, I doubt we can help.”

“Fair enough, I guess,” the brunette murmured, still trying fruitlessly to see what happened. “Asano wants everyone to meet with him down at the buffet. He wants to tell everyone not to pay it any mind because of where it is, but… I’m not so sure.”

Natsu’s eyes narrowed. Sure, he could understand why Asano would say they’d be better off leaving E Class to whatever hell they unleashed upon themselves. But the blast still sounded close and something didn’t really feel right about it. It wasn’t a normal explosion in any way. The flashing lights of it alone looked like it was almost electrical, and it was so far out at sea that it caused a huge tidal wave; the water on their beach even receded a few meters for a little bit there. There wasn’t any visible damage or sign of the End Class running for their help… so what happened?

Asano wasn’t sure of it either, they found out downstairs. But what he did know was that, while it was quite a fright for everyone who was able to see even part of it, the blast itself and everything it caused was of no threat to any of them. He even figured that the End Class, unfortunately for Class A, hadn’t met its end quite yet. Seo was dismissive of it as he was everything else, and Koyama was inclined to follow his example. 

But Araki and Sakakibara were a different story completely.

The two of them were still all kinds of fretful over what might’ve happened, muttering things to one another. You’d almost think they were genuinely worried about their new annoying rivals, who were so much closer to the explosion. If their status among their classmates weren’t so important, Natsu wouldn’t have put it past either of them to suggest sending someone to at least check on their peers. To be fair, the teachers were obviously not going to risk themselves for doing that, either.

If he thought about it, Natsu wouldn’t be able to avenge his and Asano’s loss to Okuda in the finals if she was dead. Or Araki’s loss to Isogai in Social Studies or Seo’s to Nakamura in English. And that was saying nothing of how shockingly close the infamous Kanzaki was to beating out Asano while leaving Sakakibara in the dust. If any one of their particular rivals died in that blast, there’d be no way of truly declaring Class A’s dominance over them later on in the year. It’d probably calm the poet and announcer to know that they still have a chance to beat out their respective rivals, and it would beat dealing with Araki’s fretting all night.

So, when Asano told everyone to return to their rooms and get some sleep, Natsu lingered behind. It was like he always used to do before joining Asano’s band of school giants, so the action was familiar. He needed a disguise to make sure he wouldn’t be recognized. A usual school button-down could sell him as a waiter or even kitchen worker at their hotel; his black dress pants that were given in case of a party would also help. He’d seen some of the workers on the first day; given how it was nighttime, it wouldn’t be hard to convincingly imitate their uniforms. He could finally put his comb to use to hide the top part of his face, and maybe a surgical mask for the lower part.

It was hard to get used to the feeling of combing his hair back. His scalp felt so uncomfortable as he rearranged his hairstyle to a more dignified style that shielded any of his more distinctive features while still letting him see. Once he was disguised to the best of his ability, posture and all, he lit the hidden path to Class E’s hotel with his phone.

Once he got there and hid his phone from the other hotel’s lights, he saw something almost unimaginable. A huge row of makeshift futons spread across the edge of the terrace, each with a Class E student laid up looking like they’d simultaneously gotten the flu. Okuda and Takebayashi bustled between them among some hotel workers with buckets of ice, wet cloths, and water for the patients.

It was easy enough for Natsu to blend into the group, especially when Okuda all but tossed him a wet cloth, cold and heavy with water in his hands. To Natsu’s relief, the duo seemed too concerned for their classmates to notice that he wasn’t actually one of the workers. They didn’t even question his mask because they each had their own. To avoid suspicion, he busied himself with caring for a familiar face; his polar opposite from the Biology Club: Hinano Kurahashi.

“I can’t believe someone would do such a terrible thing, Kotaro,” he heard from the purple-haired girl. “Why would someone want to poison us like this?”

_Poison?_

“I wish I knew, Okuda,” Takebayashi replied softly, tying off ice packs at a table. “Well, aside from the obvious, of course. We just need to take care of everyone until the others get back.”

What did he mean by “the obvious?” How were their classmates poisoned in the first place? How’d they even know it _was_ poison and not just a tropical bug?

Well, whatever, Natsu just had to help these people keep their fevers down and trap as much information as he could hear from them. As much as he hated Class 3-E, he wasn’t in any mood to return to Kunugigaoka with the news that someone died on this trip, regardless of who.

Kurahashi’s temperature burned through the cloth he was mopping her face with. Even with her body only half covered, she looked uncomfortably hot and wasn’t sleeping very peacefully. Taking a cue from Okuda as she whispered to Kanzaki, Natsu carefully eased the ginger’s discomfort by pressing the cloth against her forehead. At least subconsciously thankful for the cool cloth, Kurahashi pressed against the hand holding it.

The girl was always such an animal lover, as far as he knew her as a Biology Club member. She loved all flora and fauna the world had to give her, and everyone adored her cheery and gentle personality that no amount of sleazy talk or gossip could hope to distort. He admired that part of her, possibly because of how easily she could knock her older brothers down a peg or two. Okuda’s improvements in communication and such was clearly showing through with how she instructed the workers.

He kept caring for the E Class kids as he listened to the students amidst the workers caring for their school’s laughingstocks. He heard them talk about how they wished a hospital could help despite their classmates being afflicted with a man-made virus that was supposed to kill all ten of them by next week; the rest of their class went to get the antidote from whoever poisoned them ( _As if that would work out well_ ). The mention of how it basically hiked up their body temperatures to a point beyond heatstroke -- destroying their brains and liquefying their organs -- was enough to give Natsu nightmares for days. They discussed how it was most likely transferred orally, like through a shared straw or silverware if it wasn’t already in their food or drink.

Natsu didn’t know why he kept caring for them even if he knew he didn’t have to. These two and the hotel staff had it covered already. It wasn’t like the symptoms were particularly life threatening aside from their fevers. It wouldn’t be hard to slip away the same way he slid in.

But surprisingly, it was nice to help people, to be honest. It wasn’t just for tutoring or school stuff. This was actually helping someone who needed help. Sure, some of them might’ve actually recognized them, but didn’t have the energy to point him out or were simply in too much of a fever-addled stupor to realize it. Whether or not they knew, it didn’t much matter; at the end of the day, they were all students, and he surprisingly enjoyed learning how to care for them all simply by observing. It was a lot more hands-on learning than what he had to deal with usually.

It was only when they heard the sound of a helicopter that he decided it was time to leave. Okuda and Takebayashi rushed to meet the chopper where their other classmates were. It was definitely something he could keep in mind for something later. As he slipped into the woods and took off his mask, he watched the returning group rejoin their sick friends. They all said that they were going to be fine: the virus was switched out for nothing but a non-fatal stomach bug. After distributing some medicine, they were looking better already.

So what if Class E was the worst in their school. They were closer than Natsu ever remembered being with his own family or any of his peers. And, he realized as he made his way back to Class A’s hotel, that was probably what made them better people than his own class.

It was possible that they were sharing that knowledge with his peers already, given Sakakibara and Araki's strange new behaviors. Feeling the more genuine grin on his face, Natsu himself could certainly say he learned something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hope you liked reading this little misfit chapter, along with squeezing a little bit of "Kunugigaoka's not _that_ oblivious" into the mix. Tell me what you think of it down below.**


	4. Tomoya Seo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sorry about the wait, you guys. School's just kicked off and it's been kind of tricky balancing writing with all the work because of our current situation. I'm making use of a character we don't exactly see or hear from, and someone else. Also, pardon Seo's language and regretful choice of words; you have been warned.**

Tomoya couldn’t believe what was happening to the others. Every single _goddamn_ time one of them somehow interacted with E Class, they’d come back different somehow. Suddenly Araki was less condescending and didn’t enjoy his usual jabs at Class E so much. Sakakibara was more fretful over Asano whenever he went to the Lion’s Den -- the school-wide nickname for the principal’s office. Even Koyama was losing any appeal he may have had since the trip to Okinawa.

It pissed him off, what the three of them were turning into, especially since Asano refused to acknowledge it. It didn’t matter how they acted around the other students. Tomoya could tell they were going soft without even looking at them. He was the only one out of the four who still had any dignity. Out of all of them, he especially had to. It was only fair after Akabane washed out with his behavior, so he had to make sure everyone knew he was more than just their replacement fifth member, regardless of whether a resident homeschooled chick was going to be their plus one.

Tomoya was in the middle of helping to prepare for the second term assembly when he noticed something rather peculiar. A little girl was wandering about outside all by herself. She seemed to be following something in the air, and even grabbing for it a few times, but he couldn’t see what it was. Her skin tone was familiar, and her dark brown hair had a few thin, beaded plaits along the sides.

_The hell is that girl doing on campus? She frickin’ retarded or something? ‘Cause I can’t see a thing._

Tomoya went outside to see if he could get her attention. It wouldn’t be hard to chase the little twerp off the campus and back to whatever primary school she belonged to. “Hey, kid!” he yelled.

She didn’t respond. Despite how loud his shout was, the child didn’t so much as throw him a passing glance. It was a shame Kaho wasn’t around. His girlfriend would throw every bit of stationery she had and even her bag until the strange child looked at the superior elder who was talking to her. There wasn’t anything nearby that he _could_ throw without stooping to the ground.

“KID!” he shouted louder. And it was still as if he were invisible, or that the girl was deaf. He went closer and shouted again still to no avail. And again, and again. The most he got was a change in direction, now towards the hill where E Class normally went.

“Seo, what are you doing?”

 _Just great. Asano just_ had _to show up. Well, he can’t ignore something like this._

“This kid somehow got onto the campus,” he told the Student Council President. “She won’t respond to me when I’m talking to the brat.”

Asano’s expression wasn’t amused by his tone. “I think I can handle this,” he replied, coming outside. Seo followed his lead as always, actually approaching the girl. Unlike Tomoya, he was quiet and spoke softly from a closer distance, kneeling to her level.

“Hello there, little girl,” he greeted the child. “What are you doing here?”

The girl looked up at him, lime-colored eyes. Her head tilted, almost confused.

“Orange leaf beetle,” she said randomly to the purple-eyed ginger. Afterwards, she turned to Tomoya. “And… June bug?”

Tomoya could see the confused disbelief in Asano’s eyes. _Did she just call us… bugs?_

“Uh… No, little one. I’m Asano, and this here is Seo. What’s your name?”

The girl simply replied, “Sasura.”

Asano smiled at the small victory. “Okay, Sasura, what are you doing here at our school?”

Sasura looked to a nearby weed and pointed at it, somehow easily pointing out a bright red dragonfly on the plant’s stem, with a smaller and rounder insect in its grasp. “Isn’t he pretty?”

Tomoya sneered at his luck. _So we’ve got a retarded kid that came to our campus just ‘cuz she was following a bug. Must like bugs even more than that bouncy red-haired chick Koyama had to share the Biology Club with that one time. Especially since she calls anyone she doesn’t know by some kind of random insect. How is Asano still so calm even after being called a_ beetle?

“Yes, it is quite a magnificent creature,” Asano agreed. “But tell me, Sasura, where’s your family?”

Again, the girl looked confused. And, considering how quickly she shrugged at the question, almost scarily calm for being most likely to be hopelessly lost. But that might’ve been due to her being more interested in the dragonfly she was previously following than the concern of her relatives. In fact, without another word, she went to sit in front of the weed the dragonfly was still on, watching it slowly devour its kill while possibly looking for something else to chase.

“Dammit,” Tomoya growled out. “The girl isn’t even gonna bother to help find out wherever she came from. Not while she’s busy playing with her creepy crawlies. How the hell are we supposed to go about this if she’s so ret--”

“I highly suggest you don’t say that particular word, Seo,” Asano cut him off. “She can’t be older than Primary School, and slurs of that sort are unbefitting to our dignity. They should be beneath you especially, _all things considered._ ”

 _Don’t give me that crap again…_ he inwardly complained. He hated their potential plus-one as is; he didn’t _need_ to be reminded of the puny know-it-all’s damned homemade stun gun, especially with how many times she’s used it to catch him off guard for saying or doing the wrong thing. _Why do I have to be the only one to get shocked by that chick?_

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do with her?” Tomoya hissed. “She obviously isn’t gonna help us out. She’s not even worried about going back to wherever the hell she came from.”

“I have a hunch as to who her family might be,” Asano replied. “She has a face at least somewhat similar to one of our peers, whose friends might be close enough to interact with her at least on occasion. The issue is, he’s in E Class.”

That was when it finally hit. The girl’s skin, hair, and eye colors were just like one of the E Class rejects. But it was hard to imagine such a big, lumbering oaf having such a small and lithe little girl for a sister. And the plaits in her hair might’ve just as well been Yoshida’s handiwork, especially if he styled his wacky-looking dreadlocks all by himself.

 _If it’s true… could her full name actually be… Sasura_ Terasaka?!

“Didn’t think the lumbering idiot Terasaka would have a little sister,” Tomoya commented.

“As much as I don’t like it, we might have to contact him or his household directly in order to return Sasura home,” Asano sighed. “And considering she’s an obvious flight risk with no regard for her family’s concerns, we will need to be extra careful.”

Of course. Because a kid with issues can never make things _that_ easy.

In all honesty, it was easy enough to reach out to the Terasaka family. And keeping Sasura occupied and out of trouble was also a rather simple task. Sakakibara did surprisingly well in humoring her hyperfixation on insects, especially after introducing her to an encyclopedia on such things while Tomoya supervised. Mrs. Terasaka was in hysterics about her child, and was audibly relieved to hear that her baby girl was safe, even if she managed to wander her way to her older son’s school.

It was strangely… peaceful, watching the two. Sasura was guiding Sakakibara through all the insects in the pictures of the book. From ladybugs to wasps and bee flies to jewel beetles. The brunette watched and listened like a parent whose child was guiding them through their first day of school. It was strange, seeing the taller boy put aside his own love of literature for the sake of a young stranger.

Last Tomoya had checked, Sakakibara didn’t have any siblings of his own. Neither did Koyama. Araki had his brothers, but the chance that he could follow their example was rather slim. _Course you can trust the one guy who’s good with kids to be the same guy that gets all the girls. It makes me nauseous, but I’m also a bit impressed._

Terasaka himself soon arrived to pick up his little sister, flanked by Yoshida and Muramatsu as usual. But alongside their usual female friend Hazama was none other than Class 3-E’s resident animal-lover, Kurahashi.

“She’s been getting smarter with her escape plans,” Yoshida grumbled. "Didn't expect her to pull a fast one out her own window."

"Me neither," agreed Muramatsu. “This is one of her craziest jailbreaks yet!”

"We've been keeping Sasura busy in the library with Sakakibara," Asano informed the group, leading them. "I can assure you that she's perfectly safe and unharmed."

"Good," Terasaka sneered. "Jeez, I doubt she'd care how she made our mom freak out back home."

Tomoya nodded. "Yeah, she didn't seem all that concerned with getting home when I first saw her. She even called us _bugs_."

"Meh, sounds normal enough for her," Hazama said offhandedly. "She called _me_ a black widow for a while before calling me by name, but I didn't really mind that too much."

Kurahashi's eyes lit up at the sight as she gleefully joined in, Sasura already greeting her as “Tokara,” after the stag beetle. Sakakibara noticed the group by the door and stood up to join Asano.

"She's quite a delightful child," he commented, flipping his hair. "I’m sure that she’ll make something quite magnificent of herself in the future… Unlike her brother and friends, of course.”

Tomoya sneered at that last part. _He’s totally just spouting crap he’s said before. He obviously doesn’t feel it like he used to._

“Bah, keep talking; it won’t get you anywhere,” Terasaka glared. “My little sis ain’t got nothing to do with this place.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Asano replied coolly. “We’re civil enough not to stoop so low as to involve students’ families in the feud between our classes. When it comes to those who come after us, I hope we can agree on that much.”

Terasaka rolled his eyes, still obviously doubtful. In all honesty, despite the good points Asano was making, Tomoya couldn’t blame him. “Sasura, time to head home,” he beckoned.

The girl immediately stood up and rushed to her brother. With agility not unlike Okano, she climbed onto her brother’s back, giggling all the while as Kurahashi followed the group.

“Bye, crane fly,” she waved back at Sakakibara, before they disappeared beyond the doorway.

Tomoya snorted at the nickname once the visitors were most likely out of earshot. “Crane fly?”

“I wouldn’t talk, ‘june bug,’” Asano cut him off. “In any case, it seems that all is not necessarily lost for the E Class. Both sides of this situation ought to take note of each other’s examples. We managed to make do with a surprise situation with a mentally-handicapped child. And they dutifully arrived to bring her back without any underhanded tactics or threats.”

Fair enough, he supposed. Tomoya never had the best experiences with kids, especially when he was in L.A. They’d always call out his accent and the sportier kids seemed near-deadset on hitting him with their volleyballs or basketballs or even American footballs. He forgot how nice some kids can really be, if a little strange. He was able to see how the changing behavior actually helped dealing with Sasura. And that, even if they were the worst students in the school, the members of Class 3-E could afford to be human even with their superiors, regardless of how they showed it. Unlikely as it may be, it seemed almost like one day, the two classes could regard each other as equals.

And maybe, even if not now, Tomoya would be a different man by then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Alright, everyone. Just a quick question before we head onward. Do you want to see more of this mysterious "plus-one" Seo mentioned? Let me know in the comments below. I might even drop a few other things about her with the next chapter.**


	5. Gakushu Asano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Thanks for all the Kudos and comments, everybody! I'm really grateful you guys have been sticking this out with me even though school has been kind of a drag.  
>  In this situation, the two main victims of (TW) child abuse in Kunugigaoka have an unlikely heart-to-heart after something terrible happens to most of the Big Five. And Nagisa's skills in reading people's mental states and calming down someone panicking definitely comes in handy.**

At first, Gakushu thought that Ren and the others were safe. That he didn’t have to worry about his father doing anything to any of them, and that it wouldn’t  _ get _ to him. In hindsight, he should’ve known better than to keep his hopes up like that. He should’ve known better than to think his father wouldn’t notice the others’ behavior changing over the course of the school year, one by one.

His losses against E Class were piling up more and more by the week. First the baseball game, and the final exams and subsequent bet last semester. Then the athletic festival that should have crushed them under his heel, but instead wound up with his father sending all four of the exchange students to the hospital to prove a point. And most recently, the fall festival, where even if E Class didn’t win, they didn’t lose as badly as they “were supposed to.” Now, all he could do was watch helplessly as all four of them -- his  _ friends _ and his  _ best friend _ \-- were mentally shattered and put together as his father’s own academic soldiers for the upcoming exams.

The worst part was… the ginger actually  _ enjoyed _ the festival. He enjoyed being able to sing and play in a band with all of the ones he considered his equals. Araki keeping the rhythm on the drums, Koyama on keyboard and synth. Seo on backup guitar and Ren on electric bass, all with him at the lead guitar. He and Ren would be the ones singing every time they took the stage, together. Even if for a brief moment, he could forget about everything else and just be happy.

And then that monster had to go and tear away the only people he really had and make all of them something unrecognizable.

He couldn’t bear to be around his father, or the monsters he created in the timespan of just a few, agonizing minutes he spent outside the office door. The images of their zombie-like faces echoed by their murderous mumbling and the terrifyingly calm voice of his father chased him outside the school building. They continued to claw at his insides in whatever place he stopped at, accented by the autumn chill.

The monster his father had long-since warped into was looming over him all over again, trapping him against whatever wall his back was against. He couldn’t breathe properly with his knees pulled up to his collarbones, but he couldn’t move. Claws were digging into his head, ready to completely scalp him. His throat was dry, his face was wet, and his vision was too blurry to see anything beyond the darkness creeping all around him, and the fact that his head was spinning did no favors. The world around him seemed to be vibrating with every racing beat of his heart that roared against the blood in his ears. It felt like his head and chest were going to explode any second --

Something pressed itself against the side of his neck.

It was like magic. A foreign, silent presence slithering through the pieces of his splintered consciousness. All of the jagged shards slowly being nudged back together, bit by tiny bit. Gentle, unspoken words urging him to lift his head and see the silhouette that was chasing the darkness away just by replacing the monster. The oxygen he was so furiously gulping down finally seemed to be staying in his lungs now. His legs stretched out and relaxed as far as they could before meeting those of the strange benefactor. His high, tense shoulders lowered as he slumped against the wall. He could blink the tears away, ignoring the tacky sensation they left on his cheeks. The light returned, and he was able to see the person in front of him: a pale face framed in bright sky blue.

_ …Blue? Wait a second… Could that mean…? _

Gakushu couldn’t believe it. Of all the people to find him in such an undignifying state… the one who somehow achieved the miracle of pulling him from the pitfall abyss in his psyche he so foolishly fell into…

_ Nagisa Shiota? Of  _ E Class?

The blue-haired boy pulled a tiny hand away from where it had touched his neck. His neutral, cerulean gaze never wavered, observing with a passive, yet incredibly focused and intense gaze. It was like looking into the eyes of a snake, but not quite a venomous or even particularly dangerous one. More like a gentle, slightly curious, relatively harmless constrictor snake one would possibly keep as a pet, like a ball python or corn snake.

Even though the position he was in was vaguely familiar, Gakushu didn’t nearly feel as afraid as when his father left him this way. He was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, arguably pinned there… But he wasn’t scared. Shiota wasn’t actually pinning him there; he’d be perfectly able to scramble away from the smaller boy kneeling in front of him. He wasn’t even trying to pose a threat. Quite the opposite, actually.

“Are you… are you okay, Asano?” he asked, voice as quiet as always. “You looked like you were having a pretty bad panic attack before I got to you.”

_ Panic attack… _ his mind repeated dully.  _ Yes… I suppose that was what it was. However… _

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much Shiota,” he responded.

A wave of discomfort and fear rushed across the smaller boy’s face. He briefly shook his head and leaned back on his haunches. “Uh, just call me Nagisa. I’m… not really fond of being called by my last name. For, y’know… personal reasons…”

Gakushu rose a brow at his sudden sheepish behavior. “Regardless,  _ Nagisa, _ I said I’m fine.”  _ No one deserves to know a thing about what my father just did. _

The smaller student’s eyes narrowed a millimeter or two in skepticism. He looked around. “Um… where are the other guys? Sakakibara -- that’s his name, right? -- he’s usually the first to help you out when you’re having a bad time, isn’t he?”

Yet another comment that wasn’t entirely untrue. For a flirt who could never seem to take a proper hint before a rumored meeting with Maehara, Ren was always surprisingly in tune with Gakushu’s own well-being. He could also be surprisingly quick and light on his feet whenever the situation called for it. The way he reacted to the explosion in Okinawa could attest to that.

Usually, Ren was the only one Gakushu would ever allow to touch him.

“Ren and the others… in the state they are currently in, I have my doubts that they’ll be helping anyone anytime soon.”

“What happened to them?” Nagisa inquired worriedly, shifting his way to sit diagonally from the ginger, so he could stretch out a bit more. “Did they get hurt somehow?”

Gakushu shook his head. “Physically, they’re completely fine. Mentally, however…” his throat caught at the thought of saying what exactly happened. “…The principal seems to only grow more determined to put your class back where you belong. It’s… chilling, how determined he’s become.”

He heard a mirthless chuckle from the nearby bluenette. “Sounds like my mom, to be honest.”

_ His mother? _ “How so?”

Nagisa seemed to seize up for a second or two, as if surprised at himself for letting something of the sort slip. “Well -- I, uh -- so, you know back in our first year, when I was presumed to be, uh… a girl, by most of the students in our year?”

Now it was Gakushu’s turn to be confused. But he could vaguely recall it. “Yes, I can recall that time clearly enough. Though I can’t say I recall ever seeing you in the girls’ uniform.”

“Well…” Nagisa grimaced. “Let’s just say my mom made me like that on purpose. She didn’t get the girl she wanted, so she, uh… decided to make do.”

Ah, that explained a lot. Just from the rumors of their past years, Gakushu had a clear picture of Ms. Shiota being an incredibly strict mother. Some even thought her to be part-harpy after one poor soul in the Broadcasting Club recorded one of her meltdowns -- directed at her child and his old homeroom teacher -- and the average volume of her voice turned out  _ well _ above 110 decibels. But there was obviously something else going on beneath the surface if she was purposely controlling her son to be such a convincing “daughter” regardless of what he wore. She must’ve been very deliberate in making him look as feminine as possible, and more than a bit forceful to make sure he couldn’t break the facade of his own free will. Her vocal strength alone gave off the strong impression that she had  _ a lot _ of practice.

“I suppose we aren’t entirely different, in that case,” Gakushu commented. “My father wished for me to be his perfect student for years; his  _ magnum opus _ as a father and an educator. He never took it very kindly when I decided to befriend my peers rather than tower above them anyway I could. I suppose that’s part of the reason for what he’s done to my… my friends…”

“Sounds pretty lonely… always being kept at the top,” remarked the bluenette. “Guess now I know what Isogai meant after the athletic festival. Thinking back, the only reason I thought you were your father’s son was probably because of how desperate you were to keep him off your back after losing to us so much. I feel kind of bad about that now.”

Gakushu sniffed. “There’s no reason to feel guilty for beating us. The only reason I called your class’ tactics underhanded was that a group of only 15 students defeated a team twice its size. In truth… I underestimated your strength and adaptability. I was a fool to think I could overpower you with brute force after already losing to you more than once with the same pretenses. My father might also be made a fool of this time if he does the same.”

He looked up the building whose wall he was resting against, tempted to glare at it. “To be fair, I suppose I never knew very much of you or your classmates over the course of our three years at this school. Perhaps we might’ve been at least able to understand one another had I made the effort to do so much sooner… Has your mother made any effort to change her ways?”

Nagisa looked down at his lap. “Not really. She said she’d try to… but ever since Karma found out, he’s been keeping his guard up in case she starts slipping back into her old habits, and he’s been telling me to stay on alert for red flags, too. Given what I’ve seen after growing into a habit of reading her moods, I probably shouldn’t hang my hopes on her actually pulling it off. Especially so soon after nearly doing something… drastic.”

Gakushu hummed, quietly filing away the question as to why Akabane would do something so thoughtful as to give such advice. He could get back to that another time. “It wouldn’t surprise me if my father claimed he was changing only to go back on his word. Changing such deeply-rooted ways that radically is biologically impossible. At least…”

Again he saw the violent shift that happened to his friends. Ren… Araki… Koyama… and Seo… All going from a familiar band of brothers-in-arms to monsters no different from what his father had turned into. He fought back a second onslaught of tears at the thought of never seeing a smile from any of them again.

“At least… it  _ should _ be impossible… Until my father went and did the impossible, turning the only friends I ever had into monsters.”

_ I can’t truly rely on anyone else in my class, year, or possibly the entire student body, without putting them in danger of  _ him. _ He’s forced my hand to only one other person even remotely affiliated with this school, but I still can’t be sure whether he’ll try getting his claws on her as well. _

The look he saw in Nagisa’s eyes was a mix of utter horror and possibly empathy. “You mean… he _brainwashed_ them?… Like what happened at the baseball tournament?”

Gakushu could only afford a slow nod to affirm it. “And something tells me this is meant to last far longer than a mere baseball match.”

He thought he saw disgust creep its way over the small E Class student. “Guess we won’t be able to scare them straight this time like we did to the baseball team.” His face smoothed over to his regular expression, his voice sounding like he was thinking aloud rather than actually speaking to him. “Maybe they have to be kept away from the principal and worn out somehow, until his hold breaks on them. Last time, the first part was kinda done for us since they were on the field where he was out of earshot. If his control isn’t permanent, your friends will probably be back to their old selves again after the upcoming finals this semester.”

_ So basically, wait out the storm until they’ve exhausted themselves to a point of no longer following his orders while he isn’t looming over them… _ “I suppose I have no other options than to bide my time until then. At least I hopefully have someone else who can help me for the time being.”

“Good to hear you have someone like that,” the bluenette smiled, standing back up. “I should probably get going, before it gets much later.”

Before he walked too far away, he looked back at Gakushu. “Just remember we’re all on the same side. Honestly, I never wanted us to be your enemy. If the time comes that you need us, we’ll be right where you’d normally find us.”

Gakushu stayed in his little spot for a minute or two longer until he finally worked up the strength to stand. His muted phone made it clear that his only available confidant was quick to sound the alarm after inevitably seeing the states of four members of the Big Five. A single private message to him asked if he wanted to stay away from his father for the time being. ( _ Not the same as being with Ren, but it’s far better than being around my father for this whole time. _ ) He agreed, preparing to make the proper arrangements and suggestions for the days leading to the exams themselves. His benefactor responded almost immediately, as if she was simply waiting for him to come online and reply to her offer. She and her mother were already waiting at the gates for him to arrive when he got there, wearing matching faces of concern.

He knew he’d have to be strong from here on out, and he planned to be. But at least while he waited for his less fortunate companions to return, he wouldn’t have to wait it out alone. He still had one last friend by his side, who’ll be every bit as ready to welcome them back as himself.

Besides, E Class themselves might just be as willing to help destroy his father’s teachings as he is. And even if they aren’t, there’s at least one kindred soul on that mountain who will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **After careful consideration, I've decided to split the +1 chapter into two.  
> **   
>  _I'll ask again if you want to see the de facto add-on to the Big Five. Even if just one person answers, it'll be enough for me to know whether or not I should do so, so I hope you at least consider._


	6. Yasumi Nikija, +1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Part 1 of the final chapter, baby! Y'all have no idea how much I wanted to really show you of the girl referenced in the two previous chapters! I hope you enjoy meeting this unofficial addition to the Big Five.**

If there was one thing Yasumi would always want to be, it was something constant.

Someone reliable and ever-present. Someone you could count on to be there. The same kind of reliability as the birds singing from the start of the day to beyond its end, or every roll of thunder created by each flash of lightning in a storm. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t think like others did and couldn’t hope to understand why they held themselves back for such strange and silly sentiments. Her methods might’ve been unorthodox, but her results were consistent proof that they worked just as well.

Her mother had taken up a job in the kitchens a couple of years ago, and being the overprotective bundle of nerves she is, she'd always bring Yasumi to the school with her. Most of the time, she'd quietly do her own schoolwork in the library, every so often helping some of the uniformed students study or roaming the campus, memorizing every hiding place. She even wore a yellow sweater and gray pants to blend in. But she always kept her best method of self-defense on hand, just in case. (It was easy enough to build; she never knew why people were always so surprised it worked.) It wasn’t for the other students -- most of the time, anyways -- but given how small she was compared to most of the other teenagers, let alone the faculty, she couldn’t be too careful if someone thought it a good idea to give chase.

Somehow, the top students on that side of the campus caught wind of Yasumi’s reputation and were justifiably curious. For the most part, they seemed almost pleasantly surprised that someone a year younger than them had the skill to keep up with them. (And that she saw no issue in actually putting in the effort to get Seo to _put a filter_ on things he said or did.)

Before long, she was practically one of them; a constant in their lives in the same way they became a constant in hers.

It made the sudden change in Teppei, Natsu, Seo, and Ren that much more of a shock. They were doing so well in learning to properly tolerate Class 3-E, when they became _monsters_ completely out of the blue. Told in the safety of a guest bedroom, she was stunned to find out that it was the principal’s doing, whose son had no choice but to stay with her and her mother for the sake of his mental health (while keeping the secret from Sayuri Nikija for her own).

When his father basically banned him from his own classroom to similarly brainwash the rest of 3-A, the rose brunette watched as Gakushu swallowed his pride and asked the mountain class for their help. He studied tirelessly with Yasumi, guiding each other along as friends and peers and their only possible confidantes. But it was obvious that Gakushu was still worried for the others, and reeling from the shock of it all. The radical change made him rigid, unable to dare take any shortcuts in his work.

Even if they didn’t tell her, Yasumi’s mother seemed to at least have an idea that stormy skies were ahead. Aside from the usual one case per class, she got an extra case of bottled water to give to Class 3-A once the finals were over. Whether or not she saw the same things they did whenever they looked at anyone from Gakushu’s class, neither of them knew, but she at least knew things were going to be especially bad for the guys this go-round, and prepared accordingly for the aftermath.

When the day of the exams arrived, everyone in year 3 was on the edges of their seats, as if waiting to charge into a battle that wasn’t even physical. Yasumi was resigned to watching the brutality of the students through a window she was just barely able to peer through due to her height. She shuddered at the band of mutated monsters surrounding Gakushu that he couldn’t lead to victory like he normally would.

It was only shortly into the second half that she saw the brainwashed students start to wake up.

It started small. Every few minutes, one or two of the third years would slow to a stop in their furious writing, the blind rage melting from their eyes. They’d blink a few times, eyes watering from not doing so before, and then would just drop their pencils, cradling their head or massaging their temples. ( _Exhaustion headaches; can’t say I blame them considering what and_ who _caused it._ )

Slowly, more and more started to come back. Yasumi kept track as the principal’s hold on their minds broke away, one by one. Seeing her friends return gave the virtual student that much more hope that they’d all be okay, even though out of everyone in the class, they were the ones that looked the most exhausted. The important part was that now they weren’t running themselves into the ground at the principal’s behest anymore.

She didn’t know what exactly was going on in the classroom by the time the exams had officially finished, but when it had ended, Gakushu was frozen, a look of exhausted fury on his face as the teacher pulled his paper out from under him.

The second the door was open, she rushed in with her cart of water bottles and quickly started handing them out like clockwork. Those that were coherent enough to notice thanked her for it, some struggling just to get the tiny caps off. The teacher in charge of the testing in that room, the materials in hand, simply left to turn in the tests. It wasn’t like Class 3-A was going to cause any trouble, after all; they were too spent to even bother.

The Big Five were especially glad to see a familiar pair of yellow eyes, but they were definitely the worst for wear out of everyone in the room. And when Yasumi was finished distributing the water bottles and returned to the front of the classroom, everyone looked to the student council president in the front row. Gakushu, ever the leader he was even in his moment of defeat, stood up beside her. Everyone waited in tense silence, watching the unreadable expression on his face with all the concentration they could hold onto.

“I suspect,” he began slowly, “that none of you can exactly recall the past couple of weeks.”

Teppei looked down at his water bottle in shame. “Not really,” he admitted, some others also shaking their heads. “It’s all so fuzzy… like I was outside my own body…”

“That’s most likely due to the principal brainwashing all of you,” Yasumi replied, scanning the glaze-eyed horror sweeping over the classroom.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Gakushu added. “He did this to defeat E Class, but he stripped your minds of any newfound respect for them as rivals in the process. My father’s desperation and impatience for results came at the cost of the same results he was looking for.” He pinched the area between his eyes and sighed. “…Be it known, if it turns out that E Class has won this battle… I will not hold any of you accountable. How can I, if you weren’t in your right minds all throughout preparing for and during the exams? I simply wish…” His head drooped lower. “I simply wish… that I could’ve been there to save even one of you.”

His friends looked heartbroken at that statement, Ren especially so. “Gakushu…”

“But since all is said and done… what do we do now?” asked Hashizume, holding his bottle to his head in hopes of mitigating the headache.

The ginger looked down for a minute or two, eyes turning a bit vacant with thought. Eventually, he shook his head. “Normally, I’d encourage all of you to keep up with your studies as always. But this time… I can tell that no one in this room is in any condition for such a thing, and therefore… I will make no such request. I doubt there will be any need to study anyways. I won’t ask you to push yourselves any harder than my father already has.”

The class seemed in utter disbelief, that their perfectionist ruler would actually allow them a respite from the rigorous curriculum and studying.

Yasumi nodded in agreement to his suggestion, offering a few words of her own. “For better or worse, the results of your exams will be revealed soon enough. But for the time being, go home and get some rest. The storm is over, and it’s time to rebuild.”

The rest of the class was quiet afterwards in solemn compliance, each slowly breaking down in tears from the crushing mix of relief and disappointment in themselves. The two at the forefront -- the only ones who didn’t cry but were still sad nonetheless -- eventually led them from the school.

When they came back the next day and the test scores were posted, Yasumi was unfortunately not surprised. The principal’s mental torture proved to be an even further detriment to their performance than she thought. Gakushu's grief and pain led him to losing the crown jewels of his test scores to Karma Akabane of the mountain class.

She could only comfort Gakushu, Ren, and the others the best she could; after all, they still did well, despite everything. But even if they knew the whole incident wasn't their fault, the facts still remained: Principal Asano’s attempt at reclaiming control of the school proved not only ineffective, but _counterproductive._ And the way it harmed his students -- his only son especially -- was, in Yasumi's eyes, unforgivable.

When the principal tried to obtrude upon his students yet again, it was sheer impulse that drove her to stand in front of the upperclassmen, drawing out her weapon; 25 centimeters of black PVC pipe, with gleaming metal screws for electrodes and a button her thumb was hovering over. Normally, she’d make a run for it or hide behind one of the bigger kids, but in the shape they were in, for her to do such a thing would be cruel. She could feel the older man’s anger and threatening disappointment, so much that she didn’t even need to hear what was happening.

 _Gakushu’s standing too close to him. I don’t like how close he is. He should be closer to everyone else. What if his father does something? Stop_ talking _to him. He isn’t going to listen to reason; we have to leave while we still can._

The look on the principal’s face shifted from disappointment to shell-shock. She heard some of the sitting students standing up while those in her peripheral vision bowed to him. Including her friends.

She saw his arm twitch before it swung. _No --_

**_SMACK-CRASH!_ **

It was like a gunshot. Gakushu _flew_ past Yasumi, into the opposite wall and the floor beneath him. The tension snapped and left behind an awful, dead silence.

“ASANO!” Ren cried, rushing to his side. Most of the other students who weren’t immediately close to their leader turned to hide closer together, behind the only person with a proper weapon. Yasumi, not one to let anyone down, held it out further, like a sword to her unarmed victim’s neck, a spark every so often flying between the screws from pressing the button.

Outwardly, her face was as expressionless as always, but on the inside, she was a violent typhoon of fear and protective rage swirling with some of Seo’s favorite insults. But still, she made sure to hold still, as if one of a flock of birds in the silent minutes between a danger call and a mob. The calm before a tsunami.

She saw Ren carefully pick up Gakushu in the furthest corner of her eye, slinging an arm over his lanky shoulders and keeping his free arm wrapped around him. On the other side, Teppei silently beckoned everyone to leave while they could. Only when Ren carried the injured ginger safely away from his father did Yasumi dare lower her taser, and only to follow them out. Teppei lingered at the door a few seconds longer to close the classroom door behind him, and bid the principal good day.

“I’m okay…” Gakushu complained weakly, trying to push off the one carrying him.

Ren only kept him closer, concern coloring his otherwise stern tone when he murmured, “No, Gakushu… you’re really not.”

The walk to the infirmary was silent and slow. None of the five boys or one girl said a word. The lack of conversation made the silence deafeningly loud, stumbling through what felt like fog. With Gakushu in the state he was in, Yasumi had to lead the pack and deter any interference, but even she found processing what had happened a difficult task.

Not long after, they were all around an infirmary bed, where Gakushu was stuck laying sideways until the pain all along the possibly-bruising left side of his body subsided enough to move again. He was still spent before he was even struck, but after adding a fading shot of adrenaline and injuries he had to keep almost entirely still to avoid aggravating, -- possibly even a concussion, though a mild one -- he was pretty out of it. Thus, he was in no state to take part in the conversation between the other five.

“We better not be planning on letting him go back to that bastard on his own,” Seo grumbled from an adjacent cot, digging his nails into crossed arms. “Not unless we want shit like _that_ happening again.”

“Behind closed doors, it might be even _worse_ ,” Teppei shuddered, hunched over a folding chair. “No; _absolutely_ not an option. If Asano is going anywhere, it isn’t going to be anyplace the Chairman might be, preferably at _any_ given time.”

“Gakushu hasn’t been under the same roof as his father for a while now,” Yasumi added from the windowsill, keeping her eyes on the door. “He’s been staying with us since his usual storm shelter hasn’t been himself all throughout exam preparations.”

Natsu adjusted his glasses, looking to the “storm shelter” in question beyond the backwards position on his chair. “You think you can handle this one, Sakakibara?”

Their tallest friend, who was quietly lulling Gakushu to sleep the whole time with soft words and a hand in his hair, nodded in reply. “It’s the least I could do for Gakushu after us not being there. Hope you don’t mind me taking him off your hands, Yasumi.”

The rose brunette in question dipped her head at him. “I know he can trust you with his life, Ren, even if he doesn’t. I leave him to you, with whom he belongs.”

It was for his own good. Gakushu never had any actual bond with his father in the first place; not unless he did his utmost to be the best and not care about who was below him. Now that the principal’s disgusting philosophy has been effectively shattered, so too has any imitation of a familial connection they might have had. (Which, Yasumi doubted, ever existed to begin with.) If the principal was willing to harm his son so severely, then they had to be willing to respond accordingly if the other adults weren't.

“I’m honored that you think that highly of me,” the brunette smiled. “Gakushu will sure be glad to hear at least something is going back to normal.”

They stayed there to arrange everything, standing guard until Gakushu woke up and the necessary vehicle arrived. Ren carefully helped Gakushu outside to where the Sakakibara family car awaited them, the others ensuring his stuff would be with them. Gakushu was still groggy from the nap, and was resting on his friend's shoulder once they were both in the car; he looked exhausted, but also strangely comfortable and at peace to be near his best friend.

"Take good care of him, Ren," Yasumi said while bidding them goodbye.

"You know I will," he replied, the window rolling up between them.

She could feel the other three right behind her, Teppei's hand falling to her shoulder. As the car left the campus, a new righteous determination reared its head.

"Nothing like _this..._ will _ever_ happen again... Are we in agreement?"

Somehow, she already knew the answer before another word was spoken.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Scarily solemn promise there, ladies and gents. And I can't blame her or the guys for it, either. These guys have awakened to a protective instinct towards each other that the principal should never have messed with.**


	7. Graduation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Can you believe that this is actually the final chapter AND the most loved work I've seen in my time writing? I know, I can't believe it either! I'm so glad all of you enjoyed reading each time the Big Five learned something from the E Class, and the time their newly-discovered compassion was put to use.**

Seo was sneering at the gathering fleet of news vans outside the civic center. Natsu wasn’t looking too fond of it either, tilting his glasses at them in distaste.

“Man, are these freaks _all_ here for E Class?” asked the former with a wrinkled nose.

“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they were,” Teppei remarked, armed with his own video camera and cleaning its lens. “The story of them being taken hostage by that monster is still fresh meat for the media to make bank off of.”

 _And you of all people would be aware of that, Teppei, considering your family._ Yasumi regarded the emerging cameras with a hawkish glare. “I still don’t believe that story to be true. None of them would be defending their teacher due to mere Stockholm’s Syndrome. There have already been several incidents that could be used to state his case as a good teacher, whether or not he was actually some kind of monster.”

They all knew what she meant; she could tell. The infamous Koro-Sensei, as the E Class students called him, could easily be the driving force behind their exploding success over the entirety of the student body, since it was the year he was their teacher that it had even begun. Sure, he could’ve been an indirect reason behind some of the heart-to-hearts the E Class students had with the Big Five themselves -- some of which involving not entirely pleasant subject matter -- but there was no doubt his presence had drastically changed the system of the school.

“I’m afraid I have to agree,” Gakushu concurred. “This entire past week -- no, the entire _year_ \-- has had ‘cover-up’ written all over it for Class 3-E. I’ve had my suspicions about my father’s involvement since the very beginning. Something big must’ve happened at the start of the year… and I’m not just referring to the moon.”

They couldn’t argue with that. With everything that had happened during their final year in Junior High, there were plenty of instances that suggested a cover-up for something huge. Natsu had the longest array of such hints, as was discovered when he broke the news of an impromptu infiltration mission he went on back in Okinawa, and found over a third of 3-E’s students severely ill due to being intentionally infected with a virus.

“Yeah, but we can save that discussion until everything’s over and done,” Ren suggested, slinging an arm over his friend’s shoulder. “And with how this year has gone, next year should be a breeze.”

That was enough to take their minds off of the mystery of Class 3-E, at least for the moment. After how trying this year was on the boys, Yasumi had no doubt that next year, High School or not, was going to be much easier on their psyche; especially considering Gakushu’s father was being forced to resign. Gakuho Asano would no longer be principal of Kunugigaoka Junior or Senior High come next year.

“In any case, we may need to act if those reporters decide to start mobbing the mountain class,” Yasumi advised, choosing to ignore the large camera lens trying to peer in through the window.

“There is the school flag that was intended to be raised outside but was too big for the wall,” Natsu considered. “I think they hid it somewhere backstage.”

“We’ll round up some of our peers to be the bodyguards when the time comes,” Gakushu said, a familiar smile appearing on his face. “Yasumi can retrieve it during the ceremony, so it’ll be on standby just in case.”

Everyone smiled in agreement at the plan, even Yasumi.

The flag was found neatly folded and tied shut on a dolley behind the stage, as stated. It was certainly as big as Natsu said it would be, and appeared to have only been kept there to ensure that it could be collected and returned to the school after the graduation ceremony and everyone went home. It wasn’t hard to bring it out and around the auditorium, keeping it right outside so she could wait in the back, and watch each of the students be given their certificates, one by one.

When the students were all released, the Big Five lingered before the principal, a single space left in the group to invite her. Without a word, she joined them and stood at the forefront, directly facing the man who, despite his courtesy to the students at the ceremony, still did many unspoken and unspeakable things to his students.

She looked to each of the boys, and saw the memories of fear and anger in their eyes. She looked back at the man on the stage, who was staring with a newfound curiosity combined with the same shell-shock that crossed his face before he struck down his own son. But something else was there, and it looked almost like… _regret._

_Remorse over causing harm to his only child? Perhaps. But even if he wishes to atone, it will take far more than a mere apology for us to allow him any leeway._

He bowed his head to the group. “I see you have made quite a family of oddities for yourself, Asano… It appears that you have come a lot further than I may have regressed. I suppose… ever since a student of mine was lost… a part of me went with him… Please… I hope that at some point, all of you can forgive the suffering I placed upon you.”

If she were a different girl, she might have felt sorry for the man. If he was a different person before, it might’ve made sense that some things he had done were out of grief for someone he lost. But the monsters he made out of all of Class 3-A and even the school's baseball team -- at least 40 to 50 good, if slightly misguided youths -- were a cruel reminder: Gakushu was far from his only victim. It just wasn't safe.

She turned to her friends, silently gesturing for them to leave. A gesture they were glad to follow. She and Gakushu only hung back a second longer.

“Goodbye, Father. I hope that eventually you can better understand why _we_ are reacting the way we are.”

After the ginger said his piece and left, Yasumi fixed her eyes on him. “Justification does not equal redemption. The apology was appreciated, but we may not be ready for a long time.” _It simply isn’t going to work. It’s too soon; for all we know, it will be that way forever._

With that, she rejoined her friends, leaving the darkness behind all of them. It was the best way for them all to move forward, especially after such an unforgiving ordeal.

Even out near the flag, the others still looked like they felt bad.

“Do you think we’ll ever really be able to forgive him?” Ren asked.

They were all silent, the answer still uncertain. The many incidents of Gakuho Asano becoming a monster over the year weren’t as fresh as they once were… but the wounds still hadn’t quite healed yet.

“Perhaps one day, we will,” Gakushu considered. “But for now, I see no problem in waiting. And besides,” he looked to the appearing swarm of reporters and cameras, “I do believe our moment is upon us.”

Yasumi was quick to untie the flag as her friends went to gather the carriers. Teppei brought out his camera, ready to record everything.

A group of men and women in black rushed to form a sort of wall against the invaders. “Have you no shame?! These children have already been through enough! You’re all _vultures!_ ” He looked back at the targeted students. “Everybody outside now! There’s a bus on standby at the main gate.”

Yasumi had to shake her head against _that_ overwhelming crowd. She knew all too well how messy things would get if she were caught in that storm. Calling them "vultures" was a term all too fitting.

Four students each took a corner of the flag before the Big Five rushed to the reporters, just as the floodgates started to give way. Yasumi helped move the reporters aside by brandishing her taser, ready to zap any who refused to listen before taking her place at the front behind her friends. The mountain class looked almost bewildered at the flag being unfurled over them and their peers soon escorting them from the building. Teppei’s camera was out in full view, panning over all of the reporters present. (Yasumi did have to slip back for a moment or two to goad Ren away from one of the girls and a particularly angry boy fighting to keep his hands off her. But overall, the escort went just as expected of Gakushu’s leadership.)

“With graduation comes a clean slate,” he explained to their peers, “but abandoning former classmates in their time of need would be disgraceful. I may be ruthless, but as your future leader I’m not about to court shame.”

The bus was waiting patiently outside just like the man in black said. All of Class 3-E filed into the vehicle, Class 3-A proudly standing guard against the sea of tabloids. Yasumi stood at the corner of their own human wall, silent and armed.

“Mommy, look at him,” a little girl’s voice met her ears. “Look at Mr. Swallowtail. Isn’t his mask pretty?”

Yasumi turned to the voice, seeing the dark-haired child, who looked more or less like one of the larger E Class students. She was pointing to a strange man standing off to the side, who watched the students with a soft eye behind a butterfly-shaped mask. His dark hair was tied back, and over a white turtleneck and brown slacks, his black blazer seemed to be embroidered with vines and butterflies, in metallic shades of gold, silver, and blue.

He almost seemed to be looking straight at Yasumi and her friends. And even stranger, she almost thought she saw him wink.

The loud sound of the bus engine starting wound up startling her back to the large vehicle, which soon started driving away with all of the final End Class. The tabloids, defeated that their quarry was gone, retreated back to their vans and left as well, allowing the students and the families to return home in peace.

“Honestly, I never would’ve expected to see something like _this_ at the end of middle school,” Teppei commented, reviewing the footage of his video camera. “Mimura and Okajima even swapped e-mails because of this baby. Hmm… maybe I should see about having photography and video production as a major.”

“You do have a knack for being behind a lens, Araki,” Natsu pointed out. “It was how you got so far in the Broadcasting Club, after all.”

“Hey Yasumi, think your mom will really be alright with you following us around for a few more years?” Ren inquired.

“I’m almost certain she will,” Gakushu replied. “The high school is nearby, and I’ve noticed she has grown to trust us in the time we’ve known one another. And in any case, it’s always best to have something familiar when the rest of the world changes. I’m personally not ready to change anything about our little family, as my father calls us. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Yasumi gave them a soft smile. “Of course. After all, birds of a feather weather storms together.”

Seo attempted to hide his cringe as he muttered, “Again with the damn bird and weather terms…”

 **_ZAP!_ ** “I heard that.”

Seo defensively grabbed his side and scowled at the end of Yasumi’s taser, and the other boys laughed in response. Things were going to change, -- there were no two ways about it -- but hopefully, more than a few things were going to stay the same.

Personally, she hoped that the lessons they learned from their rivals would follow them through every change to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And that's the end, folks. I hope you enjoyed the Big Five's lessons in humanity. Who knows? Maybe I'll even expand on the adventures they have in high school. But until then, see you next work!**


	8. A/N: Announcement!

There's been a sequel created for this beloved story!

Now, don't worry about it being a crossover, guys. You don't need to know anything about the Persona series to go through with this sort of thing. You'll learn about everything right alongside the Big Five and their little sixth as you go. All in their personal journey to really know the infamous Koro-Sensei, as Gakushu had promised to learn from Karma.

**Author's Note:**

> **Koro-Sensei: Remember kids, you never know what someone might have to go home to. Some people might need a little bit of kindness to brighten their day.**


End file.
